Pu-erh storage and shipping

Mike,

All this makes excellent sense. Better to be safe than sorry. I have the China Post rate schedule handy, and what you say about volume is clearly true.

Michael

You first indirectly followed up my post on flat rate kg shipping costs in this thread with the assertion there was kg price break after the first kilo from China. I ended up quoting actual shipping manifest weights and costs from Kunming to support my contention that there is no price break after the first kilo. I think asking you for the same information was not out of bounds. I'll be able to tell you in a month or so what actual SAL from Shanghai costs for 2kg+. You say what you want on shipping, I say what I want. Under the truce flag I have been civil and still reserve the right to respectfully disagree with anything you say.

Jim

PS I d> Space Cowboy wrote:

Jim, quoting BOLs doesnt prove anything about the rate table or that there wasnt a price break. All it proved was that you got charged different rates between each package. However, I gurantee that the first kg is more than the subsequent ones and I even produced CP's own shipping tables to prove it. Every other shipping table I have ever seen from China had this 1st kg permium, actually Air breaks it down into several 200g sub-kg cataories as well. If you develop a relationship beyond a one-time purchase, ask the vendor for the rate chart, if they wont give it to find another vendor. If you do this you will see that every rate chart you get will charge a premium for the first kg.

This was a civil disagreement, which I had no problem with, until you started the "You dont know ...." bit. That is where it started crossing the line into something much more demeaning and akin to mud slinging. You and I have a history of things escalating, I have no problem with simply debating the facts, lets just keep it civil please.

Mike

PS Ship something via USPS to China, I have done this also, the rate will be the same regardless of the destination City. I think it's the transcontinental piece that they really care about.

The differences you see in your various shipments got me to wondering, and I remembered another curious fact about China Post. They force you to use their packing materials, boxes strapping etc, and they often pack it themselves. It could be that some of the differences in your total price had something to do with the packing material prices. I will enquire about this aspect as it is one that I don't know much about other than it exists.

I found this out because I complained about the damage I found in a couple shipments, that's when the guy started telling me about the Post Office requiring you to use their stuff etc. He had to get special permission to package the boxes himself before bringing them to the post office and he still had to use their box.

Mike

Every box I have from China says China Post in English somewhere on the box. The ones from Kunming have wrapping tape that says Kunming Post in English. The ones from Guangzhou have wrapping tape thats say China Post in English. This might explain why my shipping address is in poorly written pencil which is the only backup if the BOL becomes separated which it does. Or as I suspect the USPS mail courier thinks they need it for their records. It didn't occur to me the packaging was probably taking place at CP and you know it wouldn't be free.

Jim

Mike Petro wrote:

The objective here is "getting a good deal", or "not getting ripped off", or "being able to make informed decisions about the tea that you are buying by comparing the actual purchase price of the tea itself".

So, regardless of what the rates are or aren't, you can still negotiate actual shipping charges based on the official China Post table. Using the official rate chart can give you, as a customer, something solid with which to negotiate the delivered price. It can allow you to focus on the prices of the teas themselves, to decide which tea is a better value or a more expensive purchase based on the price of the tea itself - if the vendor is hip to doing this.

So even if the price is more than the published rate, perhaps the vendor gets a volume discount and that makes up for it.

If you had a friend in China that were willing to ship some tea to you as a favor, and the price went over the published rate, of course you would forward h/er the difference.

You may not feel the same sense of obligation with a vendor, but in any case, I don't see how it could hurt to arrange to pay the shipping fees listed in the official chart, and then if the actual prices end up being more, then maybe you can work something out with the vendor to try to figure out why, and maybe split the difference, or do it differently next time, etc...

If nothing else, the published rates make a great starting point, and if they separate the price of shipping from the price of the tea, can help you as a customer to make more informed decisions about what to buy or not buy.

Ok, I talked to a vendor in China who ships to the USA regularly and they confirmed that China Post does indeed charge for boxes etc, thus the total on your BOL could be different on 2 shipments even if the total weight was the same based on which packing materials were used etc. They also confirmed my contention that the 1st kg is indeed more expensive than subsequent kgs on all three shipping methods. They also confirmed that you can enter into a "contract" with China Post where you would get reduced rates based on shipping volume.

One interesting note is that they said the rates posted by China Post on the CP website are wrong more often than not. This is because China Post will run "specials" or "sales", at various times of the year, where the posted rates are discounted. It was not clear if this was regionally autonomous or nation wide. In any event the posted rates would be a worst case scenario barring any contract, discount, or sale.

I forgot to ask for confirmation about the California vs Maine question but I am just as sure about that as I was about the 1st kg issue.

Mike

Michael Bakshis, Babu??!!!?

Thanks for the followup. 2 dealers from Kunming and 1 from Guangzhou have been consistent in what they charge me up front for shipping versus what appears on the BOL. You pay the CP piper not matter what the figure includes. Yesterday I checked the international rates calculation on USPS.COM. As soon as you indicate China destination then all addressing fields disappear with weight and shipping method the only two options which means anywhere in the US to anywhere in China for the same price. No wonder the USPS jacked up postage two cents to pay for the China trade surplus component in shipping.

Jim

Mike Petro wrote:

I have another shipping question, it is about tracking number from China Post, can you get it or it is extremely expensive or just unavailable?

Mike Petro wrote:

Only with the EMS shipping option which is the most expensive.

Mike Petro